Easy Guitar Licks For Beginners: Play This Lick With Basic Chords

Easy Guitar Lick For Beginners

Here is the lick we will be working towards:

 Excited much? Let’s begin!

Beginner Open Chords You'll Need

To play the basic lick in this guitar lesson, you will need 4 open chords:

1. G. To play the basic G Chord: 
• Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string (A string).
• Put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the 6th string (E string).
• Your ring finger goes on the 3rd fret of the 1st string (high E string).
• Strum downwards and let it ring!
  
  
2. Em. To play the basic Em Chord: 
• Place your index finger (1st finger) on the 2nd fret of the A string (the 5th string).
• Place your middle finger (2nd finger) on the 2nd fret of the D string (the 4th string).
• Strum all strings downwards from the top string.
  
  

1. C. To play the basic C Chord: 
• Place your index finger (1st finger) on the 1st fret of the B string (the 2nd string).
• Place your middle finger (2nd finger) on the 2nd fret of the D string (the 4th string).
• Place your ring finger (3rd finger) on the 3rd fret of the A string (the 5th string).
• Strum the strings starting from the A string (5th string) down to the high E string (1st string).
• Avoid strumming the low E string (6th string) for a clearer C major chord sound.
2. D. To play the basic D Chord: 
• Place your index finger (1st finger) on the 2nd fret of the G string (the 3rd string).
• Place your ring finger (3rd finger) on the 3rd fret of the B string (the 2nd string).
• Place your middle finger (2nd finger) on the 2nd fret of the high E string (the 1st string).
• Strum the guitar from the D string (the 4th string) downwards.
• Avoid the two thickest strings (E and A) for a cleaner sound.

How To Play The Guitar Lick

Now that you have these open chords figured out let's get into the lick itself. 

The solo lick requires you to use a series of playing techniques, such as hammer-on, pull-offs, and slides, to ensure you have at least figured out these. 

They may sound advanced, but you'll get a lick that sounds like blues and will make your song sound like a pro player. 

The lick is played in several phrases:

Phrase 1:

• Place your middle finger on the G string, 2nd fret.
• Pick the string, and let it ring for a bit. 
• Then slide your middle finger up to the 4th fret.
• With your index finger, press down on the B string, 3rd fret.
• Pick and let it ring. 

Phrase 2:

• With your middle finger still on the G string, 4th fret, pick the string.
• Slide back to the 2nd fret and pull off
• Pick a little harder, and keep good pressure on the string so the pull-off can be heard well.
• Use your middle finger again, but this time, press on the D string, 2nd fret.
• Pick to ring, then a pull-off. 

The whole phrase 1 and 2, once played out, should sound like this:

As you get better, you can practice playing it a little faster. However, the lick sounds fine and good, even if it is played slowly. You don't always need fast licks - a good guitar player can play fast and slow.

Bringing Everything Together Into A Guitar Riff

Now that you have the whole lick and chords figured out, it's time to bring everything together into a nice guitar riff.

The basic concept is to alternate between the lick and open chord strumming, with the chords played in the G-Em-C-D order. We will add a bass note for some color between the licks and the open chord strums.

Here's a more detailed description:

1. Play out the lick
2. Move your fingers into an open G chord shape.
3. Pick the low-E string on your guitar and let it ring for a bit.
4. Strum open G chord as usual. 
5. Play out the lick again
6. Move your fingers into an open Em chord shape.
7. Pick the A string on your guitar, and let it ring out.
8. Strum the Em chord, as usual.

Practice this riff first before moving to the next progression:

1. Play out the lick
2. Move your fingers to the C chord shape.
3. Pick the A string on your guitar, let it ring for a bit
4. Strum the C chord, as usual. 
5. Play out the lick
6. Move your fingers to the D chord shape.
7. Pick the G string on your guitar, let it ring for a bit
8. Strum the D chord, as usual. 

At this point, you can actually loop back to the G chord by slightly altering the lick:

1. Pick the B string, and slide up to the 5th fret with your middle finger.
2. Your index finger should slide together around the 4th fret, high-E string. Press down, and pick
3. Your middle finger can press down on the G string, 5th fret. Pick the string, then slide down to 2nd fret and pull off.
4. Use your middle finger again, and press down on the D string and the 2nd fret. Pick the string, and then do a pull-off.
5. Move your finger into the G chord shape and strum.

The whole riff should sound like this when played together:

Some Easy To Play Variations

While the classic lick sounds already amazing, you can always add some pizzazz to it with some variations.

Double Stop Sliders

This variation alters the 1st phrase of the lick by adding a slightly aggressive double-stop slider:

1. Have your middle finger press down on the G string, 3rd fret.
2. Have your index finger press down on the B string, 2nd fret.
3. Pick both strings slightly off from one another. You can use your picking fingers to 'pinch' the strings to play them together or use a pick.
4. Once you have picked, slide both fingers up a fret. 
5. return the fingers to 3rd and 2nd fret.
6. Pick and slide up again.

This should form a repeated, slide-up sound that creates a more bluesy sound. When played out, this is how it should sound:

Hammer-Ons

This is slightly more advanced, but here, you will utilize the open strings from the chords and play some hammer-ons on them. The idea is that since the strings on the chords are usually within the same scale, they should play out just fine with this variation.

If you play this way, you may be able to skip the usual boring strums and play single notes with the hammer-ons instead. 

Once you add in some variations to the guitar licks, the whole riff would sound a lot more alive and less structured:

Easy Guitar Lick and Guitar Riffs For Beginners

There you have it, a simple, easy lick that you can use to alternate between open chord strumming when you play guitar. 

Make sure you practice regularly to be able to play well. Once you have mastered the pattern, feel free to explore the variations. 

Simple, easy-to-digest lessons like these are part of Acoustic Ascension, my acoustic guitar learning program. In 12 weeks, learn:

• Chords and embellishments
• Practical music theory for guitarists
• CAGED and Triads 
• How to play blues

You also get access to learning directly from me and join the learning community of fellow guitar enthusiasts. Feel free to check it out here and get your access today.